Contract Marriage: Rewritten - Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Translator: Yonnee
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After Lucy left, Laniakea quickly changed her clothes. Then, throwing on a light outer garment, she headed to the rear garden.
By now, the sky was dyed with the reddish hues of sunset.
Laniakea gazed at the sky for a moment before stepping further into the secluded part of the garden. She spoke softly.
“Come out, Mole.”
As soon as Laniakea finished speaking, the ground beneath her feet shifted.
Moments later, a mole surfaced, pushing through the dirt.
[ Did you call for me? ]
Mole looked up at Laniakea with sparkling eyes, as if expecting something.
“That was you earlier at the funeral, wasn’t it?”
[ Huh? Me? What are you talking about? ]
Mole tilted his head to the side as if he had no idea what she meant.
“Don’t play dumb. Lucy may have pushed her, but the empress fell way too hard.”
[ No idea what you’re saying, nope. ]
Mole crossed his front paws and whistled nonchalantly, a look of feigned innocence written all over his face.
Laniakea crouched down and tapped Mole’s head lightly with her finger.
“Thank you for worrying about me and stepping in, but didn’t I tell you that showing up uninvited puts you at risk?”
[ You’re thankful, right? You are, right? ]
“Don’t just hear what you want to hear.”
Laniakea pressed Mole’s head firmly with her finger. Mole flailed his tiny front paws in protest, though they didn’t even come close to reaching her hand.
At the outdoor funeral, when the empress fell, Laniakea had seen it.
The ground beneath the empress’s feet had suddenly caved in. That was why she had stumbled so dramatically.
The empress, busy crying and shouting, likely hadn’t noticed, but by now, her ankle was probably swollen and causing her no small amount of pain.
When Laniakea withdrew her finger, Mole grumbled and pouted with his snout.
[ How could you treat me like this when I helped you! ]
His stiff whiskers twitched back and forth, but sadly, they were far from intimidating.
“I’m just saying you need to be careful. What am I supposed to do if you disappear? And didn’t I tell you that no one can find out I can summon elemental spirits?”
[ Well, yeah, but… I mean, that crazy human woman—! ]
Mole’s whiskers bristled, clearly recalling his anger.
Still, he must have realized that using his power so openly in a crowded place was inexcusable, as he stopped short of further excuses.
“People will definitely make a fuss, claiming an spirit was summoned. And then…”
Laniakea’s voice grew smaller.
What would happen if people found out she could summon elemental spirits even outside of Priatra?
‘Someone would surely try to use me.’
Even if it was just a low-level spirit, its power, when used strategically, could become significant.
Take Mole, for instance. If someone in the empress’s palace garden were having a secret conversation, Mole could easily eavesdrop on it.
Spirits had endless potential for such uses.
That was why she couldn’t let her secret be discovered. People would undoubtedly try to ‘use’ the spirits.
‘And I don’t even know how Priatra would react.’
Laniakea thought of her family, who hadn’t contacted her once in the past three years.
She wasn’t surprised, nor was she particularly sad. It was exactly as she had expected.
But if word got out that she could summon spirits even far from her homeland, they would undoubtedly send someone.
And perhaps…
‘They might even try to take me back.’
The Priatra Royal Family, proud of their connection to spirits, wouldn’t stand idly by if they learned that this ability had fallen into the hands of another empire.
‘I absolutely have to keep it a secret.’
Returning to Priatra was the one thing that must never happen.
As Laniakea sank deeper into thought, Mole suddenly spoke up as if he had just remembered something.
[ By the way, your husband is back now. Does that mean he’s going to become emperor? ]
“I suppose so?”
With no other surviving heirs, it was the natural conclusion.
Mole’s whiskers twitched as it asked again.
[ Then does that make you the empress? ]
At that, Laniakea’s eyes widened. Then, as if the idea were utterly absurd, she waved her hands and replied.
“What nonsense. I’ll probably get divorced.”
To her, it was the most logical outcome.
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